


a young mountain

by perfectlyrose



Series: a young mountain and a strange girl [10]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Ficlet, Romance, someone's going ring shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 05:34:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9642803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfectlyrose/pseuds/perfectlyrose
Summary: John is a bit overwhelmed when he goes ring shopping.





	

**Author's Note:**

> set a couple of weeks after "when your weather's shifting"

John tugged on the sleeves of his leather jacket, feeling horribly out of place amongst the sharply dressed employees and customers around him, amongst the polished glass cases and sparkling stones they protected.

He shuffled around the room, peering into cases with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Each one held jewelry that looked like it was worth double what his maximum budget was. He shouldn’t have even come here but Rose deserved the best so he was going to try and get it for her.

“Is anyone helping you, sir?” A young woman a few years older than him materialized at his elbow.

“Not yet.”

“What can I help you find?”

“I’m looking for a ring but I think I’m in over my head here,” he said, self-deprecating smile curling the corners of his lips.

She gave him a sympathetic smile of her own. “Price-wise or in picking one out?”

“Both.”

She laughed. “Well, I might be able to help. My name’s Denise.”

“John.”

“So, John,” Denise said, leading them to a quieter corner of the store, “what kind of ring are you looking for?”

“I’m trying to find an engagement ring,” he admitted. A sappy smile spread over his face. “Finally going to propose.”

“Congratulations! What’s her name?”

“Rose.”

“Lovely. Are you looking for something traditional or something a little different?” Denise asked.

“Different,” he said. “I was thinking maybe a sapphire instead of a diamond but I’m not set on it.”

“And your price range?”

John winced as he gave her the high end of his budget. Dense thought for a moment then nodded decisively. “I think there’s a few things you might like.”

She led him towards the back, towards a case that was out of the way and wasn’t as well lit as the others. He hadn’t even noticed it before when he’d been looking around.

“This is our estate jewelry collection,” Denise explained. “It puts some people off that someone else has owned these pieces before so they’re lower priced but there are some gorgeous rings.”

She stepped behind the cabinet and unlocked it. She pulled a couple trays of rings out and set them on top for him to look at.

John tuned out her chatter about the pieces of jewelry as he scanned them for something that would suit Rose. Denise set another tray on the cabinet and his eyes locked onto a ring in the corner of it.

It wasn’t as brightly polished as the rest, looking almost forgotten in its corner slot. There was a square cut sapphire at the rings center, turned on its corner to to make a diamond shape. A circle of small diamonds, sapphires, and silver connected the corners of the center jewel in a vaguely floral pattern. It rested on a gold band and John was absolutely positive that it was the right ring.

“Do we have a winner, then?” Denise asked, watching as John turned the ring over and over between his fingers. “It is within your budget.”

He tore his eyes away from the ring and grinned at her. “Fantastic.”

An hour later John was on his way back to his and Rose’s flat with a newly polished ring in the inside pocket of his leather jacket and a significantly lighter wallet. He hadn’t a clue how he was going to propose yet and thinking about it made his heart start racing but he was ready to commit to spending the rest of his life with Rose if she’d have him.

No more worrying about what was going to happen after graduation or five years down the line. Well, less worrying. He just wanted her to know definitively that he was going to be by her side no matter where the future took them.

The ring in his pocket was his physical promise to that effect.

(When Rose greeted him at the door with a kiss it was hard to resist just pulling out the ring and giving it to her then and there.)

(He did resist though. He wanted the proposal to be perfect for her which meant he would need to come up with a plan.)

(He stopped trying to plan at that particular moment when Rose sunk her teeth into his bottom lip.)

**Author's Note:**

> [This is the ring John picks out](http://www.butterlaneantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Art-Deco-Sapphire-Diamond-Flower-Halo-Ring-2.jpg)
> 
> Only one more ficlet to go in this series!!


End file.
